Leadership Steering the Foundation

The Foundation is guided by the Board of Directors, a diverse and dedicated group of local civic leaders. This governing body is responsible for all grant allocations made from Foundation funds, for overseeing asset development and for guiding our general operations.

Martha R. Hinchman – Chair

The Northern Trust Company, retired

Martha R. Hinchman recently retired from The Northern Trust Company where she was a Senior Vice President and most recently served as the Managing Director for the Banking team in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Prior to joining Northern, where she worked for 26 years, Martha worked in credit and marketing positions for Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City for 10 years. She has a B.A. degree in economics from Wellesley College. Martha serves as a board member of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, serving on the Executive Committee and as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee. She also serves on the boards of Luster Learning Institute and the Buchanan Family Foundation and as a mentor in the Menttium 100 program, and is active in Wellesley College alumnae and Church of the Holy Spirit volunteer activities. Martha resides in Lake Forest.

Joined the board in 2015.

Gale Strenger Wayne – Vice Chair

Gale is a fifth generation resident of the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff area. Throughout her successful career in the investment field and civic service she has held numerous leadership roles, including Supervisor for Shields Township. Gale was president of a financial public relations firm with a nationwide client base. Her career in the investment field included earning her Series 7 stockbrokers license as well as gaining expertise in the commercial real estate field through her association with JMB Realty. Gale is a sustaining member on the Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Women’s Auxiliary Board. In addition, she is a Deacon at First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest and is active in many church-sponsored activities. Gale earned a Bachelor of Arts, Nursing degree from Illinois Wesleyan University. She and her husband Robert live in Lake Forest.

Joined the board in 2016.

C. Lawrence Connolly – Treasurer

Aon Hewitt, retired

C. Lawrence Connolly retired as General Counsel of Hewitt Associates, Inc., in 2006. Since that time, he has served on the board of St. Martin de Porres High School and then as St. Martin’s Director of Finance and Operations. He is a lifelong resident of Lake County.

Mr. Connolly received a B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and is a Certified Public Accountant. He and his wife live in Libertyville and have two grown children.

Joined the Board in 2012.

Horacio Lopez – Secretary

Pro-Data Payroll Services

Horacio Lopez is president of Pro/Data Payroll Services Inc. in Gurnee and has more than 30 years of experience in the local and national payroll arena. He is chairman of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and in 2012 he was named “Member of the Year” by the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Lopez is a native of Mexico, immigrating to the United States 1958 at the age of two. He received his degree from Loyola University, Chicago and currently resides in Gurnee with his wife, Maria Luisa, and their three children.

Joined the board in 2009.

Tiffany M. Alexander

Managing Partner, Hoffenberg & Block

Tiffany is an attorney and Managing Partner with Hoffenberg & Block, specializing in divorce, domestic relations and family law matters in Cook, DuPage and Lake Counties. Tiffany is an active member of St. James Lutheran Church, and has extensive experience with the family, health and human services sector of Lake County through her legal practice.

Tiffany is enthused about helping The Lake County Community Foundation connect with professional advisors throughout Lake County and supporting outreach activities to the “next generation” of up and coming civic, philanthropic and community-minded leaders in the area. Tiffany is originally from Lake Forest, and has recently returned there to settle with her husband, an attorney with Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, LTD., and family.

Joined the board in 2017.

Jeanne Ang

Director of Community Health, AdvocateAuroraHealth System

Jeanne Ang is the Director of Community Health for the northern region for the AdvocateAuroraHealth system. She directs community health assessment, program development and impact measurement for three Advocate Health Care hospitals -Condell Medical Center, Good Shepherd Hospital and Sherman Hospital. She leads the hospitals’ community health engagement strategy and is responsible for developing and maintaining strong relationships with community leaders, government officials, businesses and social service providers in order to build comprehensive community health initiatives.

Prior to joining Advocate Health Care, Ms. Ang was the Director of a Federally Qualified Health Center in Lake County, providing care to more than 40,000 underserved patients in eight health centers across Lake County. Always committed to community-based approaches to address health issues, Ms. Ang led a four-year multi-agency consortium to open the first school-based health center in Lake County in 2014 at the Round Lake High School. From 2012-2015, she also established and led the county-wide initiative, Enroll Lake County!, to assist residents with insurance enrollment into Medicaid and the Health Insurance Marketplace through the Affordable Care Act. Ms. Ang holds a Master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She moved to Illinois in 1996 from her home state of Nebraska, and she lives with her husband and mother in Spring Grove, Illinois.

Joined the board in 2018.

Bert Carstens

Managing Director with The PrivateBank, Lake Forest

Bert Carstens has been a Lake County banker for 26 years. Throughout the years, he has held various leadership positions with Lake County civic and non-profit organizations, including the College of Lake County Foundation, Lambs Farm and the Libertyville Rotary Club. He has been a resident of Lake Forest since 1987.

Mr. Carstens has a BSBA from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from Indiana University.

Joined the board in 2013.

Lisa Cowhey

Prior to working in the academic sector, Lisa spent 20 years with Blue Cross Blue Shield Association where she led Integrated Disability Services and Government Initiatives. Lisa studied Accounting at Cleveland State University, holds a BA in Economics and Accounting from John Carroll University and an MBA in Healthcare from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Her community volunteer work has included service on the Board of HealthReach Community Health, now known as Erie HealthReach in Waukegan. Lisa and her husband Jim, a former two-term mayor of Lake Forest, live in Lake Forest.

Joined the board in 2018.

Rev. Dr. Robert A. Davis

Senior Pastor, Holy Cross Lutheran Church

Pastor Bob began serving Holy Cross Lutheran Church on August 1, 1991. Nancy and Pr. Bob were married in 1983 and have two adult children, Elizabeth and Christopher. He served congregations in North Branch, MN, Maywood, IL, and Aurora, IL prior to coming to the Libertyville community. Pr. Bob is a graduate of the University of Iowa (B.A.) and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (Masters of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry). He was ordained in July 1980.

Besides congregational responsibilities, he also serves on the Governing Council for Advocate Condell Hospital, Board of Directors for Advocate Charitable Foundation, Board of Directors for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, and, various other community organizations. In his free time, motorcycle touring, fishing, golf and music concerts are near the top of the list.

Joined the board in 2015.

John Geiringer

Partner, Barack, Ferrazano, Kirschbaum and Nagelberg

Mr. Geiringer is a partner at Barack, Ferrazano, Kirschbaum and Nagelberg and a member of the firm’s Financial Institutions Group. He concentrates his practice on regulatory and corporate matters involving financial institutions.

John serves as Chairman of the American Bar Association Committee on Banking Law’s Enforcement, Insider Liability and Troubled Banks Subcommittee. In addition, he teaches banking law and regulation at Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Graduate Program in Financial Services Law and is a member of the Advisory Board of The Anti-Money Laundering Association. He is a frequent speaker in the financial institutions area and an author on issues surrounding regulatory enforcement actions. He is past Chairman of the Chicago Bar Association’s Financial Institutions Committee and is the Co-Editor of the two-volume edition, Advising Illinois Financial Institutions. He is also the co-author of the chapter “Bank Examination and Enforcement” in The Keys to Banking Law: A Handbook for Lawyers (2012).

John lives with his wife and children in Deerfield and sits on a number of nonprofit boards including Solomon Schechter Day School, Econ Illinois and DePaul University School of Law’s Center for Jewish Law and Judaic Studies. As the son of a Holocaust survivor, John is particularly interested in issues facing immigrants and their families.

Joined the board in 2013.

Ken Gotsch

Vice President, Administrative Affairs at College of Lake County Ken’s professional experience encompasses over 25 years of financial and operational administration with educational and academic institutions in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and now Lake County, Illinois. Ken has served in various volunteer roles with the CLC Foundation and the charitable entities affiliated with the institutions for which he has worked in his career. He brings significant financial, investment, administrative, governance and operating experience, and a strong desire to give back and serve the larger Lake County community which he and his family now call home. Ken is a Lake County resident who lives in Highland Park with his wife, who works for AbbVie, and family. He is originally from Brookfield, Illinois. Joined the board in 2017.

Shana Hayes

Managing Director, The Academy for Urban School Leadership, Chicago

Shana Hayes is currently the Managing Director for AUSL in Chicago, The Academy for Urban School Leadership, a role she has held since 2011. AUSL is a nonprofit organization that works to turn around low-performing Chicago schools. Prior to AUSL, Shana spent 8 years as Vice President for External Affairs at The Kohl Children’s Museum. Shana holds a BS degree in Molecular Biology from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her community volunteer activity includes work with Cradles to Crayons. Shana and her husband live in Deerfield.

Joined the board in 2018.

Dr. Laura Brown Hoult

GreenTree Animal Hospital

Dr. Brown graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987 after receiving her undergraduate degree in Biology at Illinois. Dr. Brown began her veterinary career in Southern California primarily involved in equine medicine in thoroughbred race horses. She transitioned her focus to small animal medicine in 1989 when she joined Mission Animal Hospital in Oceanside, California. She remained at Mission until 1992 when her husband’s job transferred them to southeast Idaho. Dr. Brown joined DuPage Animal Hospital in Villa Park, IL in 1993, where she practiced small animal medicine and surgery. In August of 1996, Dr. Brown opened GreenTree Animal Hospital in Libertyville. Thanks to the support of her husband Kris, daughters Sara and Clare finding work life balance has been enjoyable. Keeping busy with Stanley the Golden Retriever, Brownie the cat, and getting together with friends have become the new normal for Dr. Brown.

Joined the board in 2018.

Scott Humphrey

Retired, One Hope United

Scott Humphrey is a retired non-profit executive, having spent the first chapter of his professional life as an investment banker. Most recently, he served as the President & CEO of One Hope United (OHU), a diversified, multi-state social services provider. Prior to becoming the CEO in August 2015, Scott served on Board of OHU for more than ten years, including two separate rotations as the Board Chair.

Scott became the CEO after retiring from a twenty-year career on Wall Street advising clients and their boards on mergers, acquisitions, financings and restructuring. Prior to his retirement, Scott was a Senior Advisor/Vice Chair for BMO Capital Markets (BMO), the US investment banking business of the Bank of Montreal, where he was responsible for corporate board relationship development and high-profile advisory assignments.

Scott has a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics from the University of Arizona. Scott is a Partner with Social Venture Partners Chicago, a partnership of philanthropically-minded individuals focused on building a scalable social enterprise community in Chicago.

Joined the board in 2018.

Ted Notz

Senior Vice President, Associated Bank

For ten years, Edward “Ted” U. Notz, a lifelong Lake County resident, has served as Senior Vice President at Associated Bank, responsible for commercial real estate lending, short-term, bank debt financing to private real estate developers. His work is based primarily with clients in the Chicago market. Prior to moving to Associated Bank, Ted held senior roles in real estate with Bank of America and Mesirow Stein Real Estate, for four and six years respectively.

Ted has been an active leader and served as both an Elder and Deacon at 1st Presbyterian Church in Lake Forest. He also served as Chair of the Long-Range Planning and Governance Committee. Presently, Ted chairs the City of Lake Forest Building Review Board. The Building Review Board was established in 1962, and is made up of seven Lake Forest residents who are appointed by the Mayor, with the approval of the City Council. Ted also served as a past member of the Zoning Board of Appeals among other City of Lake Forest commissions and roles.

Ted holds an MBA in Real Estate Finance from DePaul University – Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, and a BA in Political Science from Denison University in Ohio.

Ted and his wife Tiffany live in Lake Forest and have two children who attend Lake Forest High School.

Joined the board in 2017.

John Sonnier

Partner & Managing Director, William Blair

John Sonnier is a Partner and Managing Director at William Blair where he provides capital markets and M&A advisory services to the firm’s biopharma clients. Mr. Sonnier possesses over 25 years of investment banking, equity research and other healthcare industry expertise. He joined William Blair in 2005 to build the firm’s biopharma equity research practice. Before coming to William Blair, Mr. Sonnier was a biotechnology equity research analyst for seven years with the Prudential Equity Group. Previously, he also spent eight years in various commercial and strategic roles at Johnson & Johnson and Baxter International.

Mr. Sonnier holds a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Joined the board in 2018.

Steve Sullivan

NAI Hiffman

Stephen Sullivan is Vice President of the Industrial Services Group at NAI Hiffman, a commercial real estate firm. He has been actively engaged in community service for over a decade. Presently he is a governing board member of the Noble Network of Charter Schools and chairs its Summer of a Lifetime college-readiness program. In addition, he serves as Board Chair of Skin Of Steel, a Glenview-based nonprofit raising support to build a national melanoma tissue bank.

Previously, Steve served as a board member of PADS Lake County and the Winnetka Parks Foundation (2008-2014). He was the Founding Chair of the Parkways Young Professionals (2004-2010), an auxiliary board of the Parkways Foundation that raises philanthropic support for Chicago Park District facilities and programming. From 2009 to 2011, Steve served as Board Chair of the Old Willow Club where he remains an active member. He is a graduate of Indiana University and resides in Winnetka with his wife and three daughters.